I'm Iron Man
by Anno1701
Summary: Even though all of his suits were destroyed and the Arc reactor wasn't in his chest anymore, Tony couldn't give up being Iron Man. So he built a new suit – secretly, of course. Set after Iron Man 3, I'm sorry, I suck at summaries…
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so this is my new ff about Iron Man. It's set after Iron Man 3 which means that it includes some points of the movie. I'm from Germany so my English isn't that good, please tell me if you can find any mistakes in spelling or grammar. The first chapters might be a little short but I hope that I can change that. I would be happy if there would be some feedback and if you like the story :)I don't own anything!**

It was over.

The suits were destroyed, the Arc reactor lay on the ground of the ocean, were his old house had been standing.

Tony watched the ocean for a few moments, before he turned around and walked slowly to his car. While walking, he saw the former entrance of his workshop, where the suits had been standing. He stopped and closed his eyes. Why had he done all of those things?

Pepper. He had done it for Pepper Potts, the love of his life. He nearly lost her and that was cruel. He wasn't able to live without her, so he wanted to make her happy. And she never liked the thought of Tony risking his life while being Iron Man.

He opened his eyes and got in the car.

* * *

His new home was a villa which was also in Malibu. It was close to the ocean and looked similar to his old one.

Pepper was already there when he entered the living room. She was sitting on the couch and smiling at him. He sat down next to her.

"Where have you been? You look tired." She looked at him concerned.

"I've been in Malibu…"

"Oh" she frowned. "And there you…?"

"I threw away the Arc reactor." He explained. "I think it was necessary to let go of it. It was deciding my life for too long."

"But it was also your last memory of Iron Man and all the good thinks you've caused."

"But it also reminded me of all the pain I've been through, Pepper. The time in the cave in Afghanistan, all the fights, the times I nearly died and the injuries and, worst of all, the questions about it." He grinned.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Really, Tony?"

"The questions were horrible. And so annoying!"

"Well, I think I know what you mean." She was silent for a moment. "Was it really that bad? The time you had to live with the reactor and were Iron Man?"

"Part of it. I mean, I can handle injuries and nearly dying and all those things. But I can't handle losing you. I can't live without you, I know that now. That's why I gave it up. The world can survive without me pretty well. They have Rhodes as War Machine and if something really bad happens, the Avengers will return. That should be enough." He smiled at her. "I won't risk my life anymore, I promise."

Pepper smiled a little bit. His words seemed to satisfy her. "Thank you. I love you, you know?"

"Of course you do, I'm Tony Stark." She rolled her eyes.

He leaned in and kissed her.

* * *

"And you are sure that it was the right thing to do?" Rhodey asked seriously. "You gave up nearly everything, Tony."

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. I've just given up a part of me."

Rhodey raised his eyebrows. His words didn't seem to convince him that he was okay with the loss of his suit. But he was. Now he had the chance to do something useful, maybe to help Pepper with the management of Stark Industries. Or he could develop a new method to produce clean energy, also for Stark Industries. Or he could spent time with Pepper, when she wasn't busy with working at Stark Industries. - Wait, what? Stark Industries? That was all he could do? Well, he could have some fun and go to parties, but Pepper wouldn't be okay with that. So what was he going to do in his free time now? He would have to think about that later.

He suddenly realized that Rhodey was still waiting for him to say something. "I gave up Iron Man, because it was dangerous. I risked the life of the people I love and that was wrong. I can't lose Pepper or anyone else. That would be too much for me. I would break down."

"But Iron Man wasn't bad at all. I mean, you saved the world more than once. And the suit was cool as well." He smiled briefly.

"But I also nearly destroyed it. I built a weapon, Rhodey. It was nearly stolen from me, I made the life of some people to a hell – well, I did that before the accident in Afghanistan too – together with some other heroes I nearly wrecked New York and I stole cars, I used people, I betrayed them and I damaged many trucks by flying into them while they were driving." He said stubbornly.

"And the things you said now weren't too bad at all. Even though you had done them, you saved the world." He grinned. "I never thought that I would see the day when Tony Stark hasn't got any astonishingly arguments."

Tony rolled his eyes. Then his cell phone rang. He shot Rhodey an apologetically look and answered the call.

"Hello?"

_"Hello boss, Happy here."_ He heard the voice of his security chief.

"Happy, what's going on?" he asked curiously. He told Happy just to call him when there's an emergency. But for Happy, many things were as bad as an accident.

_"Sir, there's a press conference in less than half an hour. Mrs. Potts told me that you might have forgotten it, so I wanted to make sure that you're punctual. The press will have lots of questions about the whole story with the Mandarin and they might want to know what you will do know. I mean, your old house was destroyed and the Arc reactor was removed from your chest."_

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Happy. I have forgotten the press conference. So Pepper was right. You don't need to worry; I'll go there with Rhodey." Rhodey raised his eyebrows. "And I already have some answers for the questions of the reporters. Thank you very much and please tell Pepper that she's great." With these words he ended the call and turned to Rhodey.

"We have to go. There's a press conference in less than thirty minutes. They want to know everything about the events last month."

Rhodey nodded slowly. "Okay. I guess you have a good story for the press? They'll have many questions."

"Yeah, I've got something in mind." He answered mysteriously and smiled.

"If you say it like this, I really don't want to know what you're going to tell them."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Tony was standing in front of a crowd of journalists. While driving to the conference, he had to think about something to tell them and he made up some really good arguments. But probably there would be a question he wasn't prepared for and he would have to improvise. He tried not to think about the fact that every time he had to improvise something went wrong. He began to tell unimportant things or just the truth, which wasn't always the best choice. The truth often caused more harm than a simple lie. People wanted to hear things that sound simple and logical. The truth wasn't always logical. It was confused and unspectacular – if you were a normal citizen and not a billionaire in an Iron suit.

"Mr. Stark, now that the Mandarin has been beaten and the president is safe again, what are you going to do?" That was an unexpected beginning of a press conference. He sighed mentally.

"Well, now that I have some peace I'm going to develop a new technology to produce clean energy." He answered simply.

"So you are trying to expand the influence of Stark Industries?"

"Yes, I think that if we just try hard enough we could change the world and make it a better place." He smiled into one of the cameras. He was sure that Pepper liked that answer. She wanted to make Stark Industries to a very important company, so it was good that he supported her opinion.

"You are giving up on Iron Man then?" That was it. The question he had expected and feared at the same time. He wanted to give up on Iron Man, which was true. He had also told Pepper, Rhodey and Happy that that was his plan, but deep inside he wasn't sure if he was able to let go. Iron Man was a part of his life, a part of himself. Not having this part anymore would be like something would be missing. And if he told the world that Iron Man doesn't exist anymore, the people would lose the belief in heroes. And all his fans would be disappointed.

So he knew what he had to do.

"No." he realized that everyone in the room had been holding his breath. After this simple world all journalists started to ask questions at the same time.

Tony searched on the edge of the crowd for Rhodey. When he found him, he met a very confused and reproachful gaze. He felt very sorry for not having told him his plan, but now he had to keep on talking. "I won't give up on Iron Man. I'll always be there to help the world if there's danger."

"Even if it's such a big one like the Mandarin?"

"Of course. People like that have to be stopped. I won't let them destroy anything. I've always fought for peace and I'll carry on doing that."

"You've never claimed that you fight for peace." A man in the crowd stated.

"No? I haven't?" he asked surprised. Apparently he had forgotten to mention that. But if he hadn't fought for peace, why had he tried to stop Loki and his army? Or the Mandarin?

"No, I don't think so."

"But I have."

"And what is your next step as Iron Man?" another journalist asked.

"I'll wait until the world needs me again." He smiled and looked straight into a camera. "But don't think that I'm inattentive. I watch the events in the world very closely and as soon as you need me, I'll be there. And when I'm there, the other side is going to lose." He lowered his voice so that it was just a whisper. "Because I am Iron Man."

With these words he turned around and left the press hall.

* * *

"Why have you told them that you're still Iron Man?"

Rhodey and Tony were sitting in the car. They were on their way to Tony's house.

"Later."

"But Tony-"

"Later. I think Pepper will have the same questions as you do. She deserves to know why I've done it as well."

"Okay."

The rest of the ride, Rhodey was very silent. He seemed to think about something. Sometimes he turned to Tony and looked at him closely, but he didn't say anything. Tony felt very uncomfortable. He had told his friends and the press a completely different story and he didn't know which version was right. Which version he wanted to become true.

As they reached the villa, Pepper was already standing in front of the door. She looked very angry and had her arms crossed.

Tony left the car und walked towards her slowly. He wasn't keen on the conversation which was going to follow. He would have to explain many things - and he had no idea how to do it.

"Let me explain…" he started, but Pepper interrupted him shortly.

"Why have you told the press that you're not giving up on Iron Man? Have you lied to me? Or have you lied to them? If that was one of your brilliant plans you could have told me! I think that I deserve to know what you are doing and-"

"Would you please let me explain everything?" he asked a little louder und looked at her sternly. He didn't want to hear accusations.

She looked at Rhodey. "Did you know about this?" she asked him reproachfully.

Rhodey shook his head. "No, I was very surprised." He answered her emphatic. "If I would have known it, I would have tried to stop him, believe me."

"You talk about it, like it was something bad." Tony interjected them.

"It was! What are you going to do if the world needs Iron Man again? You don't have a suit anymore! You can't help the world if there's danger. What will they think when they get to know that you lied?" Pepper looked at him accusingly and disappointed.

"Would you please sit down? Then I can explain everything in peace."

Rhodey and Pepper exchanged a glance, but finally they sat down on the couch. Tony kept standing, so his answer would have some reprint.

"You are right; I don't have any suits anymore and that means that Iron Man doesn't exist. I also don't want to build a new one. But Iron Man is a symbol of hope, a hero. He saved the world more than once and everybody knows it. He's got amazing powers many people dream of and they want to be like him. If bad things like the Mandarin happen, they count on him to save the world and bring peace. They look at him like he's unbeatable. Without him, the Avengers wouldn't be complete. Something would be missing. Without him, many people would lose their trust into heroes and the good forces in the world. And I can't do that to them. I would destroy their dreams and the crimes would increase, because they know that there's nobody to stop them. The world needs Iron Man, even though he's just an illusion." He finished his speech.

Pepper and Rhodey looked at him surprised and speechless.

"You've thought about all those things?" Rhodey asked.

Tony nodded. "And many other points."

"And I thought you could be an egoist." Grinning, he shook his head. "You really think about the feelings of others."

Tony smiled. "I have a soft side, too." he admitted. He turned to Pepper, who was smiling at him doubtfully.

"If Iron Man will be needed again, he won't be able to safe the world. That'll be a problem. You'll need an excuse why you can't be there to help. But even if you've got one, they'll be disappointed and loose the faith in you." she said thoughtfully.

"I'll find the right plea."

"You should really do that."

"But not right now. At this moment I want to enjoy the evening with the love of my life and my best friend."

"And what are we going to do?"

"How does pizza sound to you?"

Rhodey grinned. "Better than your speech."

**So this was the first chapter. I hope you liked it**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's the second chapter. I hope you'll like it and I promise that the next one will be more exciting. And thank you for the reviews!Please tell me if there are any mistakes I have to correct.  
**

**I don't own anything!**

His dream was very confusing.

First, he was in the cave in Afghanistan, a few days after he got kidnapped. Yinsen was there, too. Everything was very dark and he couldn't understand what the other man was saying because the pain in his chest was too strong. He just understood something about himself and building weapons for the Afghans. He wanted to look up, but he couldn't move. Suddenly everything faded and he saw two bright eyes who were staring at him. He realized that it were the eyes of his first suit, the one he built in the cave to escape from his prison. The suit seemed to grin at him in a disturbing way.

Then the dream changed. He was standing in a cell, but this time it wasn't his own. Ivan, the son of Anton Vanko was sitting on the table in front of him and told him about the palladium poisoning. At that time, Tony wasn't worried about it. He had been thinking that there was enough time to solve the problem. But instead the poisoning spread faster than he thought.

Before he knew what happened, the vision changed again. He was in his old villa in Malibu and Maya was standing in front of him and Pepper. She looked at the screen of the TV in the entrance hall and as she turned to them again, she looked horrified and scared. Then the bombs hit the house and all he could think of was Peppers safety. He called the suit so it protected her instead of him and she left the house with Maya. He stayed in the house, because he wanted to make sure that she was safe first. Suddenly the ground on which he was standing was about to crash into the sea. "Mrs. Potts is safe." Jarvis informed him. Relieved, he called the suit to come and safe him. As soon as he was in the suit, the water surrounded him. He heard Jarvis telling him, that he should breathe in deeply, before everything went dark.

* * *

"Tony?"

Peppers voice was soft and worried. Slowly he opened his eyes. She was sitting in their bed next to him and looked down at him worried. "Are you okay? You've whispered in your sleep."

"I've had a nightmare." He told her. "But you're here, so I'm okay." He smiled slightly and sat up to look her into the eyes.

She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. "It's not starting again, is it?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so. I've had nightmares before New York, too. Everyone does."

She nodded. "I know what you mean."

"You've had nightmares?" he asked surprised. "Why? When?"

She pulled away from him, to look into his eyes. "The time you've been captured in Afghanistan. And they were about…" she looked down. "Losing you." The last words were just a soft whisper.

That surprised him even more. She'd had nightmares when he'd been in Afghanistan? About losing him? But by that time they weren't even together. Well, okay he liked her before. That was the reason why he'd employed her. That and the fact that she's very intelligent. But the news that she liked him then? A total surprise.

"Really? You've missed me? And you were afraid that I'd be dying? I thought you didn't like me and were just working at Stark Industries because you could earn much money."

"Well, you were pretty annoying." She admitted. "But you were also polite, funny, creative and smart. And I hadn't thought about the money. I saw working at Stark Industries as an opportunity."

Tony nodded slowly. "Now I understand why you looked as happy as I returned. And so shocked as you found out about the Arc reactor."

Pepper smiled. "Yeah, that was scary. The thought that you would die without that machine in your chest. But now I'm glad that you had it. It saved your life."

Tony leaned in and kissed her. "Thank you." He murmured.

"What for?"

"Loving me."

* * *

The next morning after breakfast Pepper and Tony drove to Stark Industries. Pepper thought that it was a good idea if Tony would be seen there, because he told the press that he wanted to do something for the company. Tony didn't like the plan. He preferred being in his lab and inventing the new technology there.

But Pepper had looked at him with big eyes and pleaded him to go there, so he wasn't able to say no. She said that he should know how the climate in his company was.

The whole morning, he was running through the company and watching people and the things they were doing. He had to give some advises and many employees wanted to get feedback about their way of working. All in all, it was very boring.

And then there were these journalists who kept running in circles in front of the building. They all wanted to get an interview, but he wasn't planning to give one. His plans for Stark Industries were secret. Well, Pepper knew, but she was the CEO of the company so it was okay.

"Mr. Stark?" he heard a voice behind him.

He turned around to see Happy standing in front of him. He was looking very reproachful. "May I ask where your name tag is?"

"My what?" Tony asked surprised.

"The plate you're wearing on your breast with your name on it."

"I know what a name tag is! But why do I have to wear one?"

"You have to wear one so that everyone knows who you are." Happy explained.

Tony laughed quietly. "I think everyone knows who I am. At least I'm the leader of this company."

"How do you know that they know you?"

"I was on the TV many times. And in the papers. And in many magazines. And my name is standing above the entrance and on the side of the building."

"How do they know that you belong to that name?" Happy asked unsatisfied.

Tony rolled his eyes. "I think I'll wear that goddamn name tag." He said uptight.

Happy smiled happily.

"Give it to me." He held out his hand and the smile on Happy's face vanished.

"But I haven't got your name tag. I gave it to you a few days ago."

"Really? Can't remember that." Or… wait. A few days ago? Maybe he remembered it.

**_"Mr. Stark, just in case if you want to visit Stark Industries, I've got your name tag here." _****Happy said with a proud smile. He seemed to be happy to help his boss. **

**"Oh yeah, I forgot that you wanted everyone to wear them to make sure there was nobody… you know. You don't know." Tony answered with a sympathetic smile. Since Happy was the security chief at Stark Industries, he was very precise and took his job seriously. Tony wondered how long it would last. **

**Happy handed him the name tag and he took it with a smile. "Thank you, that's very nice."**

**_"No problem." _****Happy's cell phone beeped and he took a short look at it. ****_"Oh, I've got to go. There's someone sneaking around the back door of the company." _****He looked at Tony apologetically and left the house.**

**Tony looked at the name tag searchingly. "I don't think that I'll need one." He muttered and threw it right into the trash can.**

Now he remembered the name tag. Maybe it was still in the trash can. He would have to look after that.

"Oh, I think I remember it." He told Happy and smiled. "It's still in my lab; I'll wear it the next time I come here, okay?"

"Okay, that's good." the other man said satisfied.

"And now, I've gotta go. I want to work some time in my lab."

As soon as he left the building, the journalists were surrounding him and asking lots of questions about the company, but he ignored them and went straight to his car. _Maybe later…_ he thought and drove away.

* * *

What could he fabricate for Stark Industries? This question was occupying him for a few hours now. He thought about a new method to get clean energy, but he had no idea. They had the Arc reactor and a machine to get energy out of the ocean. But what were they going to do now? It had to be something special, something that nobody else had. Energy from fire wasn't special or even new. Wind and light weren't new as well. So the only thing that was left was… the earth. But how do you get energy out of the earth? Earth wasn't energy-rich, but the deeper you got the warmer it became.

Maybe he could invent a method to get energy out of the heat of the earth. But he would have to dig very deep to reach the necessary heat. It could be possible, but it would need time to find a possibility which would succeed. However, he had enough time. Pepper took care of the company and all he had to do was to show up in the public regularly. That was easy. He would just have to take out Pepper sometimes and maybe he could show up at some parties. And he was doing that often. Smiling, he began to work out plans.

* * *

It wasn't too difficult to invent a method to get energy out of the earth. After all, he was Tony Stark, a genius and because he was a billionaire, he had enough money to buy all the stuff he needed. Jarvis had helped him with the plans and three weeks after drawing the plans for the machine, he finished it.

You want to know why he was so fast? Well, because he wasn't able to work at his suits or his equipment anymore, he had to search another activity. And since nothing else was left, he had to work at the generator. He was just able to do it, when Pepper and Rhodey were at work, because they didn't want him to get too recessed in his work again, but that was okay.

The generator impressed the company. Nobody of them had believed that it was possible to get energy from the earth. Again, Tony had shown that they were wrong. The first tests of the machine were successful and they were about to publish the news. Pepper was really proud of him and relieved; that he had given up on Iron Man. Happy had told him that he'd shown his genius quality again. Rhodey had just smiled.

The only person, who wasn't happy at all, was Tony himself.

Working at the generator was a good way of passing the time, but now that he'd finished it, he had nothing to do again. And for someone like Tony, just sitting and waiting were like a death sentence. A few weeks ago he would have been working on his suits or weapons, but he wasn't Iron Man anymore, which still bothered him. What would happen if the world would need him? When he won't show up, everybody would know that he'd lied. That he'd given up. That he was weak and beatable.

What would the Avengers think? The Cap who was always so optimistic? Bruce, who was also very intelligent and always reasonable? Natasha and Clint, the couple of super agents who never gave up? And Thor, the big guy from another planet who liked to swing his hammer? Would they be disappointed? Or satisfied? Maybe they would laugh about him. And what would Phil Coulson, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who had died during the battle against Loki, think? He'd believed in heroes. They'd given him hope.

But he'd promised Pepper to give up on Iron Man. She would be disappointed if he would build a new suit. If he would risk his life again, she would be really mad. And Rhodey… would he be happy or angry? Even though he was War Machine (Iron Patriot, you idiot!), Tony had to help him with his missions or the technology very often. Well, since he'd told him that he'd given up on Iron Man, he hadn't asked again. Maybe Pepper had ordered him not to. She could think that he would get a reversion if he would be confronted with that kind of stuff again.

Suddenly, he realized that he was always thinking about the feelings and thoughts of the others. Why was he doing that? He was Tony Stark and famous for his selfishness. Before the Mandarin had shown up he'd always done what he wanted to do. He hadn't cared much about the other's sake or their feelings. He'd just done it. But on the other hand nobody could stop him when he started to build new suits and weapons. They would be disappointed or mad at him, but that was it. They weren't able to control his whole life. They wanted him to be happy and if the suits make him happy, they would have to be ok with it.

He could built them secretly and when Iron Man was needed again, SURPRISE! He would just be there and safe the world. And maybe Pepper and Rhodey would be happy and proud that he'd done it. Or Pepper would slap and leave him and Rhodey would look at him with this very accusing look he was so good at.

He also had to think about the world. It needed Iron Man! Without him they would be dead many times! And hope was always necessary…

So what was he going to do now?

**Review? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter. I'm sorry, but it's shorter than the other ones. I could have written more, but now it's more exciting ;) Thank you for the reviews to the last chapter! **

**I don't own anything!**

"With these jets we'll be able to fly through war areas without being noticed." Rhodey smiled proudly. "They are equipped with the latest technology and no other country knows how to produce it. With these jets, we'll have a big advantage towards the enemy." He finished his presentation of the latest jets. They were much faster than the old ones (the Iron Man suit was even faster!) and harder to see.

Tony didn't know why he was invited to the presentation, but he supposed that he was on the list of the people who might be interested in it. To be honest, he did NOT care about these jets. He'd just shown up, because he didn't want to offend Rhodey. And Pepper had said that it wouldn't be polite to ignore an invitation.

He realized that the other spectators were leaving the hall, so he turned around to go, too. "Hey, Tony!" he heard a voice behind him. He turned around again to see Rhodey walking towards him. "Do you have some time?"

"Yes, of course. What's up?" he asked him curiously. The last weeks Rhodey hadn't asked him about anything. They had just met to do talk about unimportant stuff like the latest political decisions.

"I don't know if you still want to help me, but I've some problems with my suit." Rhodes said hesitantly. "The steering seems to be blocked. When I want to fly to the right, the suit is moving to the left and the other way round it's the same. Our best technicians have already taken a look at it, but they weren't able to solve the problem. They said that I'd have to talk to you if I want it to work again. The technology is too complicated for them." He smiled slightly. "That proves that you're really brilliant, you know? Our engineers are the cleverest ones in the USA."

"Well, I bet that they're intelligent, but they aren't the cleverest ones in the whole United States. There are lots of people who are better, but they hide from you. Sometimes they turn evil or one of their experiments goes wrong and they end up as a big green monster each time they get angry." He pulled a face. "Or they just don't want to work for you." Grinning, he tapped his chest.

Rhodey nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right."

"I am."

"But the question was, if you want to help me. I mean…" he hesitated. "You've given up on the whole Iron Man thing and you don't have the suits anymore and you don't want to build new ones. You are the only one who understands the technology in War Machine."

"I thought his name's Iron Patriot."

"That sounds terrible and you know it."

"I do."

"So are you gonna help me?"

"Pepper's gonna kill you."

"That wasn't the question."

"What if I don't want to be confronted with that stuff anymore?"

"I would totally understand that." Rhodey sighed. "So I have to search someone else who can fix it?"

"No."

"Okay, but- Wait. No?!"

"Nope." Tony grinned at him broadly. "I'm going to help you with your suit. But it would be better if Pepper doesn't know it."

Rhodey nodded. "She won't hear a word about it."

"And if she does, it's your life which is going to be like hell."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Repairing Rhodey's suit wasn't difficult at all. Tony just had to exchange two wires and calibrate the steering mechanism again. Then the suit worked as if nothing had been broken. Rhodey was very grateful and he promised Tony not to tell anybody that he'd repaired it. But even though he was relieved, Rhodey seemed to be concerned which impacts this repair would have on him.

* * *

"Hey Tony, where have you been so long?" Pepper asked him as soon as he entered the living room.

"I've been at Rhodey's for a while. Sorry, should have told you were I was." He apologized.

"No, it's okay. I mean, you're grown-up and I am not able to decide whether you visit your best friend or not." She smiled at him. "Although I don't like it."

Tony sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "Shall I be honest with you? Going to that presentation was a really bad idea."

"And you are telling me that because…"

"You've persuaded me to go."

"It wouldn't have been polite to turn down an invitation." She protested and looked at him indignantly.

"Yeah, if I was still in the weapons business."

"No, it wouldn't have been polite now, too."

"If you say so." He yawned. "It was boring. The jets are good, that's true, but they could make better ones."

"No, _you_ could make better ones. They've done their best." She smiled at him. "Now it's my turn to tell you something?" The anticipation in her voice was very great, so he got curious. He sat up and looked at her waiting. "I'm listening."

"I've published the news about our new reactor!"

"_You've what?_" That was a surprise. A big surprise. It was so surprising, that he was actually surprised.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I am listening to you, I understood what you've said and now I am working on believing it."

She frowned. "Why is that?"

"I didn't believe that you would do it so soon. I mean, we don't even know if the reactor will work correctly. We've just done some tests."

"But the tests were successful!"

"The tests were… successful?" he asked unbelievingly and delighted at the same time. They'd been faster than he'd expected them to be.

Pepper nodded happily. "You did it!" she cried.

Before she knew what happened Tony had already lifted her and kissed her deeply. After the kiss, she smiled at him brightly. "I love you." She whispered into his ear.

"I love you too."

"Well, I think there's an easy way to prove that." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him into the bedroom, a telling grin on the lips.

* * *

He woke up in the morning. Pepper was lying next to him, smiling peacefully in her sleep. Tony stroked her cheek gently. She looked really beautiful when she was asleep. Not worried or lost in thought, like she was so often when she was awake. But he also loved her laughing wrinkles and her smile. He was lucky to have her. Never again would he let something bad happen to her. She was his everything. He couldn't live without her. Life would be like hell.

While she was kidnapped by the Mandarin, Tony had felt the desperation of losing somebody you love. It was cruel. It had felt like his heart was burning in his chest. He hadn't been able to think about something else than saving her.

And now he wasn't Iron Man anymore. He had no suits and no weapons. Suddenly, he realized that he wasn't able to protect her anymore. She was completely unprotected, even if she was with him. And that was because he was defenseless, too. He may be a genius and one of the smartest people of the planet, but it was the suit, it was Iron Man, who'd protected all these people out there. As Tony Stark, he wasn't capable to do that, even if he wanted it.

_She needs to be safe. I can't risk losing her again _he thought frantically.

And then it hit him.

Why hadn't he thought about that before?

* * *

"Tony?" Pepper asked sleepy.

"I'm here, Pepper." He answered softly and smiled. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning." She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's half past six."

"What? Half past six? Are you kidding me? We should have got up an hour ago!" Quickly, she stood up and walked towards the bathroom. "I have to be at Stark Industries at eight o'clock!" A few minutes later, she left the room again. She was fully clothed and had put on her makeup.

Tony looked at her surprised. "How do you do that so quickly?" He shook his head and smiled.

"That's a secret." Pepper grinned and left the room.

Ten minutes later Tony was fully clothed too. He walked into the kitchen to see Pepper sitting at the table. He sat down next to her. "I guess that you've got some important meetings today?"

"Yes, sadly. What are you going to do?"

"Dunno. Maybe I'm gonna work on the household robots in my lab." he shrugged.

She seemed to believe it, because she didn't ask any questions. His real plans were also taking place in his lab, but they were much bigger than some boring robots.

_If she knew…_

**Review? :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter! I'm sorry that it took me so long to write it, I promise that the next one will be uploaded earlier ;)**

**I don't own anything!**

"Jarvis, are the cameras ready?"

"Yes sir, the record can start every second."

"Well, then we can start." Tony grinned and looked to the robot with the extinguisher which was standing next to him. "And you" he pointed at him "don't have to do anything if I don't start to burn, okay? And I won't burn, because I haven't made any mistakes."

He shook his legs again and took a relaxed posture. "Start record number one. First test of the Mark 2.1, equipped with all things that the old suit had. That means all kinds of weapons, the ability to find me and improved speed. I'm still working on the magic hat mode, so we'll leave it out now." He smiled into the camera. Then he made a strange pose in which he stretched out his arms in a laborious way.

Nothing happened.

Tony frowned. Then he made a different pose, in which he jumped, so he stood with legs apart. With the hands he made a posture like Thor when he called flashes.

Again nothing happened.

_Have I done something wrong? _Impossible. He was Tony Stark, a genius. And he'd done it many times before. Building a suit wasn't very difficult. He couldn't have forgotten how to do it. It was one of his favorite activities and he was very good at it. At least he thought that.

**Smack!**

_That hurt._

Apparently it worked. Why did he know it?

He knew it, because something had hit him. Hard. On a spot, which wasn't very pleasing. He would have to work on that. Definitely.

Before he knew what was happening, the other parts of the suit came to him. Luckily none of them hit him again. The last part, the mask, he had to catch, but that wasn't very difficult. He'd done it before a few times. During the fight against the Mandarin. The old suit had that mistake, too. But now he would remedy it. And many other things. This suit would be better than the others. Hopefully.

Suddenly, he heard a hissing sound and he was shrouded with white mist.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO EXTINGUISH ME!"

* * *

"I'm back!" Pepper called.

Tony smiled as she walked into the kitchen where he was already sitting on the table. "Did you have a nice day?"

She rolled her eyes. "As if a day at Stark Industries would be nice." She muttered and made a face.

He grinned at her. "I know you like working there."

"I do. But it's exhausting." Pepper kissed him and sat down next to him. Then she frowned. "Do you smell that too?"

"Do I smell what?" he asked confused.

"It smells strange. Did you use an extinguisher?"

"Um… no?"

She grinned. "You did!"

"I didn't!"

"You just don't want to admit that something on the robots hadn't worked!"

If he said no again, would she ask questions about what really happened? Should he let her believe that he had worked on household robots?

"Okay, I admit it. You're right. Something started to glow and before it started to burn I had to extinguish it." He sighed as if he wouldn't be happy about telling it.

"Everyone can make a mistake sometimes."

"I know."

"And-"

"Could we please stop talking about it?" he cut in.

"Oh, ok." Apparently she seemed to believe that he wouldn't want to talk about it anymore because he was annoyed. He barely made mistakes. So she stopped. That was a good thing, wasn't it? He wouldn't have to tell her about the suit.

"Do you want to go eat something?" Pepper asked with a smile. "I know a very good restaurant which isn't far away."

He hesitated. "Well, any other day I would say that that's great but I want to fix the robots." He looked at her apologetically.

She still smiled. "It's okay; I understand that you want to finish your work first. I also wanted to do some paperwork for the company."

"I love you." He said while shaking his head. "You're the best."

"I know." She grinned.

* * *

"Did you find your name tag?" Happy asked. Pepper had just left the kitchen and he was about to go to his lab too, when Happy had walked in.

_Oh shit. I haven't thought about that at all… I need to make something up. _

"Sadly no." he made a concerned face. "The plaster robot must have taken it."

Happy's smile faded. "Oh. Well… then I'll get you a new one…?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Tony nodded encouraging. "That would be great, thank you Happy." He stood up slowly. "Could you give it to me when I enter Stark Industries the next time? I don't want to forget it again."

The other man nodded. "Sure."

Slowly, Tony started to walk towards the stairs to enter his lab. The suit had hit him really hard, because he was walking with legs apart. He hoped that Happy wouldn't notice it, but of course he did. "Sir…?"

"No. I don't want to explain to you what happened. And no, you'll never get to know what exactly had happened."

"But…"

Tony sighed. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

In his lab he sat down at the table. He was feeling guilty because he had yelled at Happy but at the same time he thought that he deserved it. You don't ask questions like that. That wasn't very polite. If Pepper or Rhodey had asked it would've been different. They were his best friends and he told them nearly everything.

But he was Happy's boss. Their relationship was mostly business. He liked him, but that was it. They couldn't be friends.

_Yeah, right. That's very clever, Tony. Don't let anyone come close to you. Don't get friends. Be alone forever. You're an idiot, you know? You need friends! Without them, you'll never be able to be completely happy. _

But they also made him vulnerable.

_Pepper made you, too. And Rhodey. But they were allowed to be your friends._

On the other hand, friends were helpful. And they made it voluntarily.

**I have to think about that.**

* * *

"Jarvis, is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir. The values are constant and everything should work."

"Well, then I hope that you're right. Where's Pepper now?"

"Mrs. Potts is in her office working on the reports of the new generator."

"And Rhodey?"

"He is on a mission in Israel."

He nodded slowly. "Okay, that should operate. They won't see me. And no camera will catch a photo of me?"

"Unlikely."

"Then let's go."

And with that, the Iron Man suit took off into the air.

It was a great feeling to fly again. Everything was so small and he felt free. He'd missed it that was clear. And the new suit was even faster and more agile than the old ones. Malibu was very small from up there. Tony flew over the place where his old house had been standing. He thought about the day when he destroyed the Arc reactor. Now there was a new one, not in his chest but in the suit. It hadn't been too difficult to install it in the suit and it worked even better than the old one, because it wasn't stealing energy from Tony when it was necessary.

Now there was just the problem that he wasn't able to wear the suit in the public, because Pepper and Rhodey thought, that he wasn't Iron Man anymore. But maybe that would change soon. Sometimes everything changed very quickly, he knew that too well.

_I hope it changes very soon…_

* * *

"Mr. Stark, there's someone who wants to visit you." Jarvis informed him.

Tony looked up from his suit and frowned. Who could that be? Pepper was still at work and Rhodey was in Israel. He hoped that it wouldn't be Happy. The thing with the name tag was enough for a few months. _You wanted to be nice to him _a voice inside his head said. And that was right. But why was he visiting him now?

"Sir…?"

"I'm on my way." Tony stood up and left his lab. He walked to the front door and opened it, just to look very surprised. He hadn't expected _that _person to visit him.

**Oh, who could that be? Review? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter! It doesn't happen that much, but I hope you like it!**

**I don't own anything!**

"What are _you _doing here?" Tony asked surprised.

"I was in the city and because I've heard of all the things that have happened I wanted to visit you."

"And why do you want to visit me?"

"Talking about the good old times?"

"I thought you didn't like me. I was just part of the team and necessary for your plans." Tony said and raised his eyebrows.

The person in front of him was looking at him with wide eyes. "What gave you the reason to believe that?"

"Well, we had lots of fights and you kind of wanted to punch me in the face."

"But that was _before_ the battle! Then everything changed!" the person, who was a little pale now, seemed to become desperate. It seemed like Tony's words were unexpected.

The fact that he was able to make someone that nervous and insecure made Tony start to grin. "I think you should know by now when I'm joking and when not, Cap." He said. "At least we spent some time together while searching Loki and the Tesseract."

Steve Rodgers, alias Captain America, relaxed and shot him a reproachful look. Then he began to grin too and rolled his eyes theatrical. "I should've known it!"

"Should have known what? That I like to joke?"

"That you're still an asshole!"

Tony grinned. "Why should I change that?" He stepped aside and Steve entered the house. They walked into the living room and sat down, Tony on the sofa and Steve in an armchair. Then Tony told him everything about the fight with the Mandarin. Steve was very impressed as he heard what Tony's latest suit was able to do.

Then Steve told him what he'd been doing since the events in New York.

"I've travelled a lot. I was in the ice for a very long time and after that I haven't tried to get to know the world. The events in New York made me kind of curious. All that technology and the things you were talking about, they sounded really cool."

"And apart from travelling? Have you done anything else?" Tony asked and raised his eyebrows. "Next to the things that happened here in Malibu, you're story is boring."

"Well, not everyone has an exciting life, you know?"

"But you're Captain America, you should save the world."

"And you're Iron Man; you should do that, too."

"I've done it many times." Tony smiled masterfully. "And next to that I've invented a new technology to get energy."

Steve rolled his eyes. "No need to get arrogant, Tony." He paused for a few seconds. "And now the Arc reactor isn't in your chest anymore?" he changed the subject.

Tony nodded. "I wanted to start a new life. I've even thought about giving up on Iron Man."

"You've thought about _what?_" Steve cried and looked at him with wide eyes. "But you can't do that! The world needs you! Shield needs you! The Avengers need you! _We_ need you!"

"Steven, calm down! I haven't given up on him; I realized that I couldn't do it. Iron Man is a part of my life and without it I'm not… _complete_, you understand?"

Steve nodded slowly. "I think I couldn't give up on Captain America as well. He's a part of me. He makes me to what I am. He's changed my life and he defines it."

"But even though I've created a new suit – the old ones were destroyed – I've got a problem." Tony said hesitantly. Should he tell Steve what he'd told Pepper and Rhodey? Well, he was his friend. And he wouldn't tell anyone what he'd done. Maybe he could give him a good advice.

Now Steve was the one to raise his eyebrows. "What kind of problem?"

"I've never thought that I would tell you about my problems, but now you're here. So why should I waste this opportunity?" Tony made a pause. "No, listen. You're my friend and I do trust you. I know that you won't tell anyone and that you can help me." He added as he saw Steve's face. He didn't like Steve to look at him like he would be mean. He wanted him to trust him, to like him.

"You've got my word that I won't tell anyone about your problem." Steve smiled at him reassuring.

"I've told Pepper and Rhodey that I'd given up on Iron Man."

Steve's smile vanished immediately. "Oh, not good. That's really bad…"

Tony smiled weakly. "Yeah, I know. What am I gonna do now?"

"You have to tell them that you can't give up on him."

"And how should I do that?"

"Gently. Try to explain why you can't give up on him. How you would feel if you wouldn't be able to help them when there's danger."

Tony nodded slowly. "That's an idea."

Steve grinned. "You may be more intelligent, but when it's about feelings I'm the better man."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up, Rodgers!"

* * *

The rest of the afternoon they were talking about unimportant things like politics or how bad some criminals looked. And Steve told him how he became Captain America and how it felt to have supernatural powers. After that, Tony told him about the events that made him create the Iron Man suit. It was the first time that he was talking about those things to anyone except Pepper, Rhodey or Happy. And he'd told it Bruce, but that was to give him hope. He wanted to help him accept the Hulk – or _Other Guy_, how he called it.

When he'd finished his report he showed Steve the new suit. Steve was very impressed, because the thought that the suit he wore in New York was already extraordinary.

At 8 o'clock pm Steve went home and Tony was alone again.

He sat down on the bed and thought about the thinks he'd told Steve. When he was there, he felt very optimistic. Like everything was possible. And maybe that was true.

* * *

"Tony, I'm home!" Pepper whispered. It was in the evening and Tony was already in bed.

"You're late."

She looked down to her feet. "There was a lot of work to do and then Happy began to tell me the story of your name tag and how he'd caught someone who wanted to steal a trash can."

"Someone wanted to steal _a trash can_?" Tony sat up and raised his eyebrows. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"It turned out that it was the janitor who wanted to empty it." Pepper answered in an annoyed voice and rolled her eyes. "You know that Happy overacts sometimes, right?"

"Oh, right."

"And what've you done the whole day?" she asked with a smile and sat down next to him.

"I've had an unexpected visitor." Tony answered.

She frowned. "Who was it?"

"No need to worry, Pepper. It was Steve" Tony grinned. "But if you think that we've got an affair…"

"Steve?" Pepper interrupted him a little confused.

"Um… yeah. Steve Rodgers, Captain America, you know?" He made a gesture with his hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My thoughts were somewhere else."

"At you're lovers house?"

"What? No! What makes you think that? I don't have a lover, I love you! Only you and nobody else!" she cried terrified.

Tony laughed quietly. "I know, that was a joke!"

She looked at him angrily and hit him on the arm. "You're an idiot, you know?"

"I know, but you love me nevertheless."

She rolled her eyes. "Sadly that's true." Then she leaned in to kiss him.

**Review? :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. In the next one I'll write something exciting, I promise ;)  
I don't own anything!**

"Well, you know that I've told you that I've given up on Iron Man." Tony began his speech. It was Saturday evening and Pepper and Rhodey were sitting on the couch while he was standing in front of them. They both looked very confused and skeptical, as if they feared the things he was about to tell them.

Rhodey nodded. "That's right." he said slowly.

"And why are you reminding us of that?" Pepper raised her eyebrows.

"Well, maybe that wasn't true at all." Tony made a deliberative gesture.

"What do you mean?" She sounded confused and… _hurt._ That wasn't what he'd wanted. In his imagination he'd told them everything and then they would have understood his reasons. But that was… well not unexpected. But he felt uncomfortable.

"I wanted to give up on Iron Man. But I couldn't." He looked at them and sighed. "He's a part of me. He'll never stop. I can't…. No, let's say: Without him, I'm not myself anymore. I do always have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen and then I can't protect you. I feel helpless. And it's like… I don't have a mission anymore. I can't just sit here and invent new technologies for the company, that _kills _me. Since the events in Afghanistan I've changed, you know that. I do care for the events in the world and that means that I've to be out there. And as Tony Stark I can't be there."

Rhodey and Pepper looked at him speechless and with wide eyes. Then Rhodey nodded slowly. "I think I know what you mean. Since you've destroyed all the suits and the Arc reactor, you were… restless. You were always in your thoughts and not really… _here._ I missed your sarcastic comments." He smiled slightly.

"You'll continue to be Iron Man." Pepper interrupted Rhodey quietly. She sounded very shocked and really hurt. "So the goddamn suit is more important to you than I am."

"What? No! That's not what I meant! I wanted to give up on him, I've really tried! But I couldn't. There was always the fear that something might happen and you weren't protected. Maybe someone wanted to blow my house? Or kidnap you just to get me? What would happen then? I wouldn't be able to protect you, but that's my job! If something would happen to you and it would be my fault, I couldn't live with that thought! I just want you to be safe!" Tony looked at her entreatingly. He must've sounded very desperate, because Rhodey was looking at him compassionately and even Pepper looked like the wanted to comfort him.

"Well…" she hesitated. "I don't like it that should be clear. But if you do really feel like that… then I can't forbid you to be Iron Man again."

"Not again." Rhodey smiled a little bit. "He'd never stopped. He'll always be."

"And about the suit. I think you should know that I've already built a new one."

"You have what?!" Pepper cried. "Okay, the thing about being Iron Man because you can't stand the thought that I might be in danger is okay, I can understand it. And I won't say anything against it, because I want you to be happy. But that? You know that you've lied to me, right? You could have told me that you still want to be Iron Man _before_ building a suit!" She turned to Rhodey. "Say something!"

"You've got a new suit? Is it better than the old ones? Can I see it?" Rhodey asked, ignoring Pepper and her anger.

Tony grinned at Rhodey. "Much better. Of course you can." Then he looked apologetically at Pepper. "I'm sorry; I know that that was stupid. But I was afraid that you wouldn't understand me."

"And now you weren't?" His arguments didn't seem to convince her.

"You remember that Steve was here?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Steve?" Rhodey interrupted confused.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, Steve. Captain America, one of the Avengers. Friend of mine. Blond hair, very muscular, pretty-"

"I think he knows who you mean." Pepper said shortly and with an angry look.

"Sorry. Well, I've talked to him about the whole situation and he gave me some advises. And he said that, if you really love me, you would understand me."

Silence.

"Could you please say something?" Tony laughed nervously. "And don't look at me like that."

"He was right."

"Excuse me?"

"Steve. He was right. I love you and that's why I should accept your decision. I can't forbid you anything and if I would try things would get worse. But they aren't even bad. Everything's alright."

"Wow, hadn't expected that."

"What did you thought would've happened?" Rhodey asked curiously.

"I thought that she would leave or kill me." Tony answered and looked at Pepper, who smiled. "Could have happened."

He smiled, too. "Well, maybe I can still make you become angry."

"Sounds good." She stood up and put her hands on his chest. "Maybe when we're in bed…" she whispered at his ear and kissed him slowly.

Tony kissed her back and smiled at her lips. "Can' wait."

"Um… guys?" Rhodey still sat on the couch and seemed to fell like he was at the wrong place.

"Later." Tony murmured and continued to kiss Pepper.

"Call me." With those words, Rhodey walked out of the room, leaving Tony and Pepper alone.

"Now we're alone." Pepper whispered.

"Finally." Tony lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Tony asked with a grin.

Rhodey nodded and grinned back. "I can't wait."

"Then let's go." With these words Tony made a heroic gesture.

Suddenly, the Iron Man suit came to him and began to put itself on. First the hands, then the shoes, the legs, the chest and then the head. Rhodey looked very impressed, even though he'd seen the process a few times already. "You're brilliant, you know?"

"Of course. After all I'm the son of Howard Stark and a genius. Jarvis, is everything alright?"

"The values are stable and all systems are ready to be used."

"The Arc reactor in the suit?"

"It's working."

Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head. "If it wouldn't work, I wouldn't be able to move, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Rhodey laughed and covered his mouth with his hand. "Sorry." Then he walked around Tony and regarded the suit closely. "It's not as… bulky as mine."

"I've made some improvements."

"I see… Is it fast?"

"Faster than yours."

"Are you sure?"

"Uncompromisingly."

Rhodey grinned. "Let's see." He grabbed the key of his car. "I just have to get the War Machine."

* * *

"3… 2… 1… GO!"

With those words the two suits, Iron Man and War Machine, lifted into the air. After a few seconds it was clear, that the Iron Man suit was much faster. Tony left Rhodey far behind.

"Not fair!" Rhodey complained.

"What? That my suit is better? Maybe you should search someone who can built you a better one." Tony grinned.

"You know that nobody except you can build a suit like this."

"Then stop complaining and be happy that you have one."

"Stark."

"Rhodes."

"One day I'm gonna kill you."

"I'd like to see that."

Then they both started laughing.

**Review? :)**


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